At Konoha's gates, just as the unrest first broke out, three figures silently appeared at the entrance.
"Who goes there?" The ninja on guard stepped forward, warily blocking the three.
"Impudent!" Aburame Torune stepped forward and shouted angrily.
The man at the front silently raised his head. The guard shuddered and hurriedly bowed. "My apologies, sir. I did not know it was Lord Danzō."
"Open the gates." Danzō gave no needless words and directly issued the order.
At this moment, the rebellion on Root's side had only just begun. As guards at the village entrance, they naturally knew nothing of the sudden events within the village.
The Hokage's orders had not yet been delivered either. Thus, to the gate guards, Danzō was still one of Konoha's upper ranks, someone they could not defy.
This was Danzō's true plan: to exploit the time gap and his own status to leave Konoha.
From the very beginning, he had never intended to confront Konoha head-on. He understood Minato Namikaze's strength, and he understood Konoha's strength. If Root truly launched a rebellion, it would be completely wiped out in less than an hour. Even with him included, it would make no difference.
Not to mention that when Naruto Uzumaki had been only a few years old, he had single-handedly swept through his entire Root base. From that moment, Danzō had known there was no way to contend against such a monster.
But that did not matter. The Ninja World was vast. Apart from its forces within Konoha, Root had many outposts and hidden assets outside the village as well.
As long as he left Konoha, he could simply follow Orochimaru's example. As long as he remained alive, there would always be a way.
The gate guard showed a hesitant expression. "Lord Danzō, according to